Good Morning All,

Well today is the first day of rain we have had so far and we are here in the North of the land in a little place called Sint Jacobiparochie on the Camping t'Kaatsgat. The first thing that struck us when we got here was the silence, it is so peaceful, I already look forward to returning one day!!!

Since I last blogged we have seen a thing or two, we left Egmond aan de Hoef fairly late in the afternoon and cycled towards Petten where I had organised a trekkers hut for the evening but I had kept this as a secret from the rest. Firstly we cycled over the dunes which were steep in places but nothing too much to worry about, our only worries were the heat and water but we had plenty of both so this didn't cause any further problems. At the end of the dunes we found Bergen aan Zee which looked like a pretty layed back place and had a hippy feel to it. After Bergen aan Zee we cycled through the Schoorlse Downs which were easy going and not too difficult. Half way through the Downs there was a crystal clear pool where a father and his daughter were bathing in the cooling waters, we didn't disturb them but instead pushed on to Camperduin. The cycle path ran between two woods, one evergreen and the other diciduous.

After Camperduin we got onto the beach road and made good time, reaching Petten in what seemed like no time at all. At Petten we climbed to the top of the hill above the beach and free wheeled down into the town and headed on towards Sint Maartensvlotbrug where we stayed in the trekkers hut at Camping 't Ruige Veld which was a welcomed break for the team and it was nice just to be able to get in and relax without having to put up tents etc.

We awoke the next day after having slept well but I was suffering from a sort of flu and had a temperature. After consulting with the rest of the family we decided to make the effort to try and cycle to the next campsite at Den Oever because we really want to get round in time. After what for me was the hardest day's cycling so far we eventually arrived and I am sorry but I can't tell you much about how the day went because all I can remember about that day was that it cost me all my effort just to turn the pedals and as for the rest that is just a blur.

The next morning we awoke on time and eat a huge breakfast which seemed to help and after breakfast we got on the bikes once more and started the ride across the Afsluit Dijk. Jim had met a friend on the campsite the night before and he cycled some of the way with us so Jim was happy and I think they will stay in contact in the future. The crossing wasn't too windy although the wind was against us and we made it across in good time. When we road across it looked as if the road was going uphill all the way but this must be some sort of optical illussion because the road runs parallel to the sea. At the end of the Dijk we styaed in a little place called Gooium just south of Zurich on Camping Hilarides which was a typical farmers camping with plenty of space for each tent and nice and peaceful.

After our stay in Hilarides we headed further north towards Sint Jacobiparochie and the Camping where we are now (Camping t'Kaatsgat). If you enjoy peace and quiet and a clean and friendly campsite then I would strongly advise you to book in to Camping t'Kaatsgat, it is stunningly beatiful and like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the silence is deafening.

We are today heading up further to a small place called Moddergat, I hope to be able to tell you a little more about the ride next time I blog because I feel a little bit better now and hopefully I will remember a bit more about the next few days as I do the last. One thing I am a little worried about is my tyres, due to the hot weather and the amount I am towing, I have nearly taken the profile off both back tyres but Mike a friend of ours is bringing two over this evening so as long as I can get to Moddergat today then everything should be OK.

Signing off for now.

Matt